


Skele-Sister

by IronWoman359



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, What if Sans and Papyrus had a little sister?, What if a human fell and Toriel wasn't there to meet them?, What if she wasn't actually a skeleton?, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-03-31
Packaged: 2018-05-22 15:57:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6085900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IronWoman359/pseuds/IronWoman359
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Once upon a time, a human child fell into the underground while climbing Mt. Ebott. What awaited them when they awoke was pain, frightened monsters, and an empty house. Until they ventured out of the ruins and met a new friend.</p><p>A story about the relationships between Sans, Papyrus, and an OC as the events of Undertale unfold around them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling Down

The monsters living in the ruins of Home were not accustomed to much excitement. Most of the population had moved on to other parts of the underground, including the King and Queen. The few who remained saw so little variety in their routines that anything out of the ordinary, no matter how small, was a point of interest to everybody. The small form lying unconscious in the cavern where the sunlight shone down certainly qualified as out of the ordinary. A young whimsun came across it, and soon a small crowd of their friends had gathered around to stare.  
"What is it?" croaked a froggit.  
"I'm not sure..." said the whimsun. "But I think it fell from up there," they said, pointing to the roof of the cavern. The monster children looked up at the hole far above them that was the source of the only sunlight they'd ever seen.  
"So...does that mean it's a human?" asked another froggit.  
"Maybe..." a vegetoid mused. "Remember that thing that was found here last week? My mom said that it was a human, and this looks kinda like it."  
"I guess so," the whimsun said slowly.  
The creature stirred suddenly, and the children yelped in surprise. It shakily pushed itself onto its hands and knees, wincing as it did so. It looked around, rapidly blinking its eyes. It looked startled to see the strange assortment of monsters around it, and shrunk in on itself a bit.  
The children huddled in a circle, whispering to one another frantically and occasionally glancing over at the creature with a mixture of curiosity and fear.  
"Is it a human?  
"I think so."  
"What do we do if it's a human?"  
"King Asgore wants human souls, right?"  
"How do you get a human's soul?"  
"My dad says you have to be really strong."  
"Didn't the king get the last one that fell here?"  
"Yeah, we all had that big party to celebrate."  
"Do you think we should tell someone?"  
"H-hello?" the creature spoke tentatively, jolting the young monsters out of their whispering. "W-where am I? W-who...what are you?"  
They all looked to the whimsun who had found the creature fallen in the first place.  
"Um...we're monsters?" it said slowly. "What are you?"  
"I'm...a human."  
The children looked at each other, and they all suddenly remembered what their parents had told them.  
Humans are dangerous. Humans want to hurt monsters. Humans are the reason we're trapped.  
The human started to stand up, and their face contorted into a terrible expression. They made an awful, frightening cry and leaned heavily on one leg as they rose.  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!" The children collectively screamed, and scrambled over one another trying to run away. They ran and ran, all the way to their homes, not daring to look back at the horrible human behind them. They rushed to their parents and cried in their arms about the human coming to kill them all, and as the adult monsters comforted their children, they steeled themselves for whatever may come.  
______________________________________

The little girl was having trouble piecing together what had happened. The last thing she remembered was she was running...running up a mountain, slipping and stumbling as she went. Then she'd tripped...and fallen. She didn't remember landing, just falling down down down, further than she'd ever fallen before. Then waking up, with dirt on her face, twigs in her hair, a rip in her dress and surrounded by...she wasn't sure what, exactly. The huddle of whispering creatures around her reminded her of huddles of kids on the playground. They had whispered too, throwing glances her way and scattering when she approached them. They would run off to their games, games that she was not invited to join.  
"H-hello?" she asked, interrupting the creatures' whispering. "W-where am I? W-who...what are you?"  
The creatures stopped whispering abruptly. They looked at one another, and seemed unsure of what to do. One, a small bug like creature meekly stepped forward and answered.  
"Um...we're monsters?" it said slowly. "What are you?"  
_Monsters? Like in the fairy tales?_ The little girl swallowed nervously.  
"I'm...a human," she said cautiously.  
The monsters seemed nervous, a feeling shared by the little girl.  
She started to get to her feet, and grimaced. Her head felt like there was huge metal spike driven through it. She put weight on her left foot first and cried out as a shot of pain climbed up her limb. Leaning on her right foot, she looked down. Her left leg was swollen and discolored, and she could barely put weight on it without her stomach churning violently. Her vision began to swim in front of her, and she almost collapsed.  
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!" the monsters screamed and scattered away, running as fast as they could away from her.  
"Wait!" she called after them, but it was too late.  
She was alone.  
_"I need to get out of here,"_ she thought. _"I need to find some help..."_  
She tried to take a step, and winced in pain. Carefully, she eased forward, leaning heavily on her right leg.  
_"I can do this,"_ she thought to herself, sucking in a breath as she limped along.

The girl hadn't gone far before she encountered more monsters. They were bigger than the ones who had found her when she fell, and they were scary. Strange frogs, vegetable creatures, giant bugs, strange beings with terrifying eyes and sharp teeth, even what looked like living jello, all tried to block her path. At first she tried talking to them, asking them for help. But she quickly realized that they weren't interested in talking. They wanted to hurt her, to 'give her soul to Asgore,' whatever that meant. She didn't want to stick around long enough to find out. She quickened her pace as best she could, limping through the ruins, running from every monster she encountered.  
Every now and again, something like a trap or puzzle would keep her from moving forward. But they were all fairly simple, and the girl had always been good at figuring things out.  
Eventually, she reached what seemed to be the end of the catacombs, as far as she could tell. An old tree sat in the middle of a cavern, with what looked like a house built at the far end. Looking around apprehensively, she limped into the house, bracing herself for whoever, or whatever, she would find inside.  
But what she found was...nobody.  
The house was empty everywhere she looked; in the bedrooms, the living room, the kitchen. There was no food in the fridge, and the fireplace looked like it hadn't been lit in a long time. The girl climbed into the enourmous armchair by the fireplace, and took several deep breaths.  
" _This place is abandoned. But I can't stay here. What if those monsters come here looking for me? I have to get away...I have to find somewhere to hide."_  
She looked over at the staircase leading down to...she didn't know exactly. She'd been afraid to go down in case she couldn't get back up with her leg the way it was. But it was the only way to go from here, if she wanted to go forward. And going back wasn't an option.  
_"I can do this,"_ she thought. " _I have to do this. It's the only way."_  
Slowly and carefully, she eased herself off the armchair and began making her way downstairs. Once at the bottom, she was greeted by a long, dark corridor. And at the end...  
Was a door.  
Tall and imposing, the door was purple and emblazoned with some kind of emblem. The girl reached out and laid her palm against it. She looked behind her at the empty corridor then back at the door. She felt so small and insignificant, up against a door like this. It would almost be easier to go back upstairs and face the monsters in the ruins again.  
" _No_."  
The girl took a deep breath.  
" _I have to go forward. I can do this."_  
She pushed forward on the door, which swung open fairly easily despite its size. She stepped out into the unknown, the door swinging back shut behind her with a decisive thud. There was no turning back now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping to do weekly updates on this. My goal is another chapter every Monday but that might get crazy later on as the semester continues. Fingers crossed that I can keep to a somewhat regular schedule! Feel free to leave CONSTRUCTIVE criticism. Keyword being constructive. I'm open to suggestions, but please be polite.  
> Here we go!


	2. There's Nothing to be Afraid of...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A human and a monster meet in the woods, and each one is a little scared of, a little confused about, and a little intrigued by the other. They introduce themselves, and though they don't know it at the time, they mark the beginning of something that will change them both forever.

Opening the door in the basement, the girl had expected to find more caves, or perhaps a clear way to surface. What she had NOT expected was a subterranean forest, complete with huge trees, a worn out trail, and wonder of wonders, fresh snow. Shaking her head in amazement, she started limping forward. Her breath crystallized before her eyes, and soon her teeth began chattering.  
_"I need to find somewhere warm"_ she thought to herself. She briefly considered going back into the Ruins, but knew that wasn't really an option. Nothing good would come of it, she decided. At least out here, she hadn't seen any monsters.  
Yet.  
_"Better to keep going forward. I can do this."_  
  
After a time, she started to think someone was following her. She looked behind her, but saw nothing.  
_"It's probably just the wind,"_ She thought, then frowned. _"But...I'm underground. There's no wind down here."_ She sighed and wrapped her arms around her shoulders. _"Whatever. It's not a big deal. Nobody's out here, it's just me and the trees. Nothing to be afraid of...nothing to be afraid of...nothing to be afra-"_  
A branch snapped behind her.  
In a blind panic she ran, limping and stumbling through the snow.  
She couldn't see, couldn't even breathe, but she didn't care.  
All she cared about was getting away.  
The girl didn't realize she'd fallen until she was flat on her face in the snow. Vaguely, she realized she had landed on of some sort of bridge. Her leg screamed in protest to the activity, and she did her best to bite back a cry of pain. She looked behind her and couldn't suppress a small whimper.  
Somebody HAD been following her.  
Looking down at her was a monster, much bigger than any other she'd encountered. It had a pale, ghostly face with hollow eye sockets and a big grin. It was a skeleton, she realized, like something straight from the horror movies that played on tv late at night. But unlike those lumbering creatures with flesh still dripping off in places, this one was smooth and clean. It somehow looked a bit chubby, and was wearing a blue hoodie, gym shorts, and socks with pink slippers. It actually looked kind of silly. If she hadn't been so terrified, she probably would have laughed at it.  
"whoa," the skeleton said. "you should be more careful. there's snow telling when you could slip and fall out here." He winked down at her, but she scooted backwards away from him, heart pounding in her ears.  
"hey, hey, take a chill pill. the pun wasn't _that_ bad," the skeleton cocked his head slightly to the side, regarding the small child edging away from him. "are you ok, kid?"  
"G-get away from me," the girl stammered. "Get away!" The skeleton looked surprised.  
"whoa, whoa, relax. just, calm down, alright? there's nothing to be afraid of."  
"Y-you're not gonna hurt me?" she asked. The skeleton shook his head.  
"hurt you? now why would i want to do something like that?"  
"B-because...you want to steal my soul," she whispered. "Just like the others. You want...to give it to Asgore?" The skeleton frowned slightly.  
"so you're a human then?" he asked. The girl gave a timid nod. "oh." He looked down at her for a moment, then sighed. "look, kid. i'm actually supposed to be on the lookout for humans right now. i just became a sentry, and it's my job to capture any humans who come out of the ruins." The girl flinched and scooted further back, but the skeleton kept talking. " _but_ , you don't look like you need capturing. in fact..." he looked the child over.  
Two large, blue eyes fearfully peered out at him from a pale, dirty face covered in scratches. Her light purple dress was covered in mud and snow, and had a large rip in the skirt. Her dark hair was messy and tangled with a few twigs poking out, and her left leg was horribly swollen and discolored. It was one of the most pathetic sights he had ever seen.  
"you look like you could use a hand there." The skeleton reached out his hand to her. "let me help you up."  
The girl eyed him suspiciously.  
"c'mon kid, it's okay. just take my hand." The girl stared at him for a moment, then nodded, reaching up. As soon as she gripped his hand a loud, rude noise rang out into the trees. She yelped in surprise, then she giggled, in spite of her fear. The skeleton chuckled too as he pulled her out of the snow.  
"the 'ol whoopie-cushion in the hand trick." He explained. "it's _always_ funny. i'm sans, by the way. sans the skeleton."  
The girl got to her feet, her face contorting in pain when she put weight on her bad leg. She wrapped her arms around herself, teeth chattering uncontrollably.  
"whoa, kid. you look chilled to the bone. here." Sans took off his hoodie and handed it to her. Grateful, she pulled her arms through the oversized sleeves. The hoodie smelled like grease and ketchup, but it was cozy and warm nonetheless.  
"Th-thanks," she stammered, her shivering easing off a bit.  
"don't mention it," Sans said. "so...do you have a name, kid?"  
The girl looked up at him, and the two studied each other for a moment.  
Sans saw a terrified little girl, broken and bruised, her gaze pointed downward after a brief moment of eye contact.  
The girl saw a monster. But this monster was different. She looked into his eyes for a moment, then quickly looked away. Strangely, she saw no fear or malice in them like she'd seen in those in the ruins. The skeleton seemed...kind. Concerned for her, even?  
"look, kid i was just curious," Sans started to say. "you don't have to tell me if you don't-"  
"Lexia," the girl cut him off, still looking down. "My-my name is Lexia."  
Sans smiled.  
"well lexia," he said. "it's ice to meet you."  
Lexia gave a small laugh.  
"It's ice to meet you too," she said. She started to smile at the skeleton, but suddenly a wave of nausea rolled over her. She swayed slightly, and before she knew it she was on her knees in the snow, breathing heavily.  
"whoa!" Sans cried in alarm. "are you ok, kid?"  
"It's just...my leg..." Lexia wheezed between breaths.  
Sans looked down at the child. He didn't know much about humans, in fact she was the first he'd ever seen. But knew enough to know that she was in pretty bad shape. He reached down and helped pull her to her feet again.  
"here kid, lean on me," he said, supporting her weight. "whaddya say we go somewhere where we can get that leg of yours fixed? not to mention let you warm up a bit."  
Lexia was still slightly suspicious of this monster, but she saw few other alternatives. Continuing alone, with her injury, would definitely be a mistake.  
"Ok," she said. "Can we walk slowly?" She hated being this weak, this helpless, but at this point she had no other option but to completely rely on her strange new companion.  
"oh, don't worry about walking all the way there," Sans said quickly. "i know a shortcut."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've learned our little human's name! Hooray! 
> 
> I was going to wait til Monday, honest, but I was just really excited for Lexia to meet Sans, so I'm updating a few hours early. Hope you liked it!


	3. Blue Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pain, relief, and the growing realization that something done on an impulse can have unforeseen consequences.

Lexia wasn't exactly sure what happened. One minute, she and Sans had been standing in the forest. The next, Sans's eye had flared a brilliant blue hue, and everything around them seemed to melt together in a disorienting blur of light and color. It only lasted for a few seconds, and when everything came back into focus, they had moved. Sans grinned.  
"fast shortcut, huh?"  
Lexia blinked and looked around.  
The snow had been replaced with carpet, the trees had been replaced with walls, and the cold blue light of the forest had been replaced with the soft yellow glow of lightbulbs.  
"Wow..." she whispered in amazement. The small living room was nothing in particular to write home about, but the sudden change of their surroundings left stomach churning and her head spinning.  
"Wh-what happened?" she asked  
"like i said, shortcut," Sans said simply.  
Lexia shook her head.  
"I don't know what that was, but it wasn't a 'shortcut,'" she said, making finger quotes.  
Sans laughed. "well," he admitted. "some people say shortcut, others say teleportation. a scientist might say that i'm utilizing time and space from another dimension to get to a place in this dimension sooner..." he trailed off, seeing a look of confusion flash through the pain on the girl's face. "well, you see why i just call it a 'shortcut.'" He helped her move over to an old green couch and sit down. "there you go kid, just relax."  
"I'm ok..." Lexia said, taking a deep breath. "I just..." Her voice caught in her throat.  
Adrenaline had kept her going this long, but the pain was getting much worse, and much more difficult to swallow back.  
"lemme take a look at this," Sans said. He bent down to examine her injured leg, then gave a low whistle. "whoa, lexia. you really got banged up bad here."  
"It happened...when I fell down here, I think," Lexia responded, her voice sounding weak and thin.  
Sans looked surprised.  
"you went through the whole ruins like this?"  
"Yeah."  
He shook his head in bewilderment.  
"damn kid, that must have hurt like hell."  
Lexia's eyes widened a bit at the language, but she nodded in conformation. Realizing what he'd said, Sans smacked his forehead with his hand.  
"my bad, kid. shouldda watched my mouth there. but seriously," He stared at Lexia, a perplexed look on his face. "i'm pretty sure your leg is broken, and you walked all this way on it?"  
Lexia just nodded again, unable to speak. Tears were starting to prick at the corner of her eyes, despite her best efforts to hold them back.  
Sans regarded her in silence for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders.  
"well, i'm not as good at healing as my brother, but i think i can manage mending a broken leg."  
Sans's left eye began to glow with a pulsing blue light, as did his hands as he reached forward towards Lexia's leg. It was similar to what had happened in the forest, but this was much slower; much more controlled. She watched in fascination as the light spread from his hands, enveloping her and dancing before her eyes. Her whole body felt tingly, as if she was covered in a million pins and needles. The light shone with the most intensity on and around her injured leg, and Lexia's watched dumbfounded as the blue streaks twisted around her, pulsing gently. Her leg turned cold as ice for a split second, then warmth flooded back into it as the light receded.  
The light slowly dimmed, retreating back into Sans's eye as it completed its work. As the power faded, so did Lexia's pain. The agony in her leg had been reduced to a dull ache; nothing worse than if she had banged her shin on the playground. A sigh escaped her lips, and she sunk back into the cushions.  
"Thank you," she whispered, her previously tensed muscles slacked with relief.  
"don't mention it. you should get some rest now, kiddo." Sans said, his pupil returning to its normal pinprick of white.  
Lexis nodded in agreement. With her pain gone, she could feel fatigue readily approaching her. Already, it was becoming difficult to think straight. At this point, it was no longer even a question of if she was safe or not. Her body needed sleep, and at this point was determined to get it whether Lexia was willing or not.

  
________________________________________________________

  
The couch was old, frayed, and close to tearing in some places. But to Lexia, no mansion in the world could have been more luxurious. Her head had barely hit the pillow Sans had brought her before she fell into a deep sleep, the constant pain she'd been pushing through finally gone.  
Sans pulled up a chair next to the couch and sat down, staring in fascination at the human he'd stumbled upon. She was still wrapped in his oversized hoodie, and her chest rose and fell gently as she slept. She looked so small and helpless; she reminded him of what his brother had looked like sleeping when he had been younger.  
His brother.  
God, how was he going to explain this to Papyrus? How would he react when he came home and found this small girl wearing his brother's hoodie asleep on their couch?  
Sans rubbed his eye sockets, sighing.  
He and his brother were used to things being difficult, but they'd always found a way to make it work. They had moved to Snowdin hoping for a quieter life, a better life. After what had happened in the lab, Sans couldn't stand to stay in their old place in the city. However, the pair still had to eat. They still had to have a roof over their heads and clothes to wear. Sans had taken the sentry job in the hopes that it would give them a chance to start over.  
Instead, it had dropped a whole new problem into their laps.  
The problem in question rolled over in her sleep, pressing her back up against the back of the couch cushions. Sans sat in silence while she slept, thinking over his options. There weren't many that he could think of. His first day as a sentry, and not only had he seen a human, which he hadn't thought would be likely, but he had accidentally taken her in and given her shelter instead of capturing her and handing her over to the Royal Guard.  
_"You could still hand her over,"_ a small part of him whispered in the back of his mind. _"She's asleep, and it would be easy to have one of the dogs come here to get her."_ He shook his head quickly, silently scolding himself. He couldn't bring himself to do something like that, even if she was human.  
Every monster in the Underground had heard the stories since they were small about how humans were evil and wanted to kill all monsters.  
But this girl...  
Sans remembered the fear in her eyes when she had backed away from him in the forest; the tremor in her voice when she said Asgore's name. This girl didn't want to kill monsters. She seemed even more frightened of them then they were of humans. Sans knew what fate awaited her at the hands of the guard, and he couldn't let that happen to someone so clearly innocent. There had to be a better way.  
The front door slammed open dramatically, yanking Sans out of his thoughts. A tall lanky skeleton wearing an orange sweater and a red scarf barged in, carrying sacks of groceries.  
"SANS?" Papyrus stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his brother sitting in the living room. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HOME ALREADY? SHOULDN'T YOU BE AT YOUR POST?"  
"yeah...." Sans said slowly. "about that..." He looked over at the sleeping child on the couch. "something's kinda...come up."


	4. The First Friend

Lexia was no stranger to being woken up by shouting. Wherever she was on the surface, it had never been far away. She was never able to block out the noise entirely, but it was still possible to sleep through, if you were used to it. So when a loud, boisterous voice pierced through her unconsciousness, she tried to ignore it at first. However, its booming persistence was impressive, and realizing that further rest was a lost cause, Lexia allowed the sound to drag her back into wakefulness. She pried her eyes open, her vision blurred by the remnants of sleep.   
She blinked several times, and the room gradually came into focus.   
" _Where am I?_ " she wondered. She was in an unfamiliar room, and couldn't remember how she'd gotten there. Panic began building in her chest, but when she saw Sans sitting on a chair next to her, the memories came flooding back.   
Falling.   
Hurting.   
Running.   
Sans had helped her. He'd gotten her somewhere safe and healed her leg. Lexia took a shaky breath. Things would be ok, for now.  
Then she saw the other one.  
She screamed, which made the gangly skeleton screamed back. He dropped his bags of groceries, and they hit the ground with a deafening crash. Red splattered everywhere from a broken jar, making the skeleton scream again.  
"MY TOMATO SAUCE!"   
"whoa, whoa, calm down!" Sans cried in alarm, jumping out of his chair. He looked back and forth between skeleton and Lexia, eye sockets wide with surprise. He went to the skeleton first, who was kneeling on the floor, mourning over the spilled sauce.   
"don't worry, pap. we can buy more." He placed a reassuring hand on the monster's arm. He looked back at Lexia, who was cowering on the couch."it's alright, kid," he said quietly. "papyrus might seem intimidating at first, but he's harmless. ok?"   
Lexia looked over at the tall figure who was hurriedly gathering up his spilled groceries. He was regarding her with a curious expression, and with her initial shock gone, Lexia could see an inherent kindness in his eyes.   
She looked back to Sans, and nodded slowly. He nodded back, then looked back over to the skeleton.   
"papyrus, this is lexia. lexia, this is my brother papyrus."   
The skeleton straightened and flashed a winning smile.  
"HELLO, LEXIA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM HAPPY TO MEET YOU!"  
"Um...me too?" Lexia said timidly. She looked over at Sans. "Does he...?" She paused, unsure of how to phrase her worry into the form of a question.   
"DO I WHAT?" Papyrus asked cheerily. He looked back and forth expectantly between Sans and Lexia, his smile never wavering.   
"he won't hurt you, lexia," Sans said in a low but earnest voice.   
"WHAT? OF COURSE I WOULDN'T HURT YOU! WHATEVER GAVE YOU THAT IDEA?" Papyrus said, a look of puzzlement crossing his face.   
Lexia frowned slightly, glancing over at Sans again. Surprisingly, she found herself wanting to trust her strange new companion, but she still barely knew him. And his brother was a wild card. She wasn't sure how much she should say right away.   
"I...ran away from home," she said carefully. "And all the monsters that I met...tried to stop me. I...got hurt, and..." She trailed off, uncertain of what to say next. She looked over at Sans, silently pleading for help. Understanding, he jumped in, finishing her story for her.   
"i found her out in the forest, bro. she was pretty beat up, and downright terrified. i know i shouldda stayed at my post, but-"  
"NONSENSE!" Papyrus interrupted, his sudden energy making Lexia jump slightly. "YOU COULDN'T HAVE JUST LEFT A HURT KID ALL ALONE IN THE WOODS, SANS!" he said matter-of-factly. He put his recovered grocery bags down gently, and knelt down next to the couch so that he was eye level with the child.   
"WORRY NOT, LEXIA! YOU WILL HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He gave her a huge grin, and after a moment, Lexia smiled back.   
"THAT'S BETTER!" Papyrus said happily. "NOTHING LIKE A SMILE TO START A FRIENDSHIP!" He held out a bony hand to her. "FRIENDS?" He asked hopefully.   
Lexia looked at the hand for a moment, then took it.  
"Friends," she said, giggling at the look of excitement that flashed across Papyrus's face.  
"WOWIE! OUR FIRST DAY IN SNOWDIN, AND I ALREADY MADE A FRIEND, SANS!"  
"heh. that's great, bro."   
"WELL, FRIEND LEXIA! WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP ME UNPACK THESE GROCERIES? YOU CAN HELP ME DECIDE WHERE I SHOULD PUT EVERYTHING! THEN WE CAN DO WHATEVER ELSE IT IS THAT COOL FRIENDS DO!"   
Lexia laughed and nodded, allowing herself to be pulled into the kitchen by the enthusiastic skeleton.  
_______________________________________________________________________

Sans smiled to himself as Papyrus effortlessly put the girl at ease. His brother never ceased to amaze him with his unconditional kindness and acceptance. Lexia had warmed up to Papyrus rather quickly, considering her initial fright.   
_"though she didn't draw attention to the fact she's human,"_ he noted. " _she's awfully cautious for being so young."_  
Sans sighed, and let himself fall onto the now vacant couch. The sounds of Papyrus's cheerful chattering drifted in from the kitchen, and occasionally Lexia's small voice responded in turn.   
_"if every day of this job makes me this exhausted, then i am not getting paid enough."_  
He closed his eyes, intending to rest for just a moment. However, he must've been more tired than he thought, because before he knew it Papyrus was gently shaking his shoulder.  
"SANS? WAKE UP, SANS."   
Sans shook his head groggily, looking up at his brother.   
"whazzup, bro?" he mumbled, the fogs of sleep slowly dissipating in his mind.   
"LEXIA IS ALSEEP UPSTAIRS. SHE GOT TIRED AFTER PUTTING AWAY THE GROCERIES."  
"ok. good," Sans said, yawning.   
"SANS?"   
"what, pap?"  
"AM..." Papyrus hesitated, trying to choose his words. Sans sat up, concerned.  
"what is it, papyrus?"  
"AM I A BAD FRIEND?"   
Sans sat up, instantly awake.   
"whatddya mean? why would you think that?"  
Papyrus sat down next to Sans on the couch, putting his head in his hands.   
"SHE WOULDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING ABOUT HER. I TOLD HER A LOT ABOUT ME. THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE SUPPOSED TO DO, RIGHT? SHARE THINGS WITH EACH OTHER?"  
"yeah..." Sans said carefully.  
"I TOLD HER THAT I LOVE SOLVING PUZZLES, AND THAT MY FAVORITE FOOD IS SPAGHETTI. I TOLD HER THAT I COLLECT ACTION FIGURES AND THAT I LIKE STORIES. I TOLD HER THAT WE MOVED HERE FROM HOTLAND YESTERDAY, THAT SHE WAS MY FIRST FRIEND, AND THAT YOU'RE THE ONLY FAMILY I'VE EVER HAD. I THOUGHT I WAS BEING A GOOD FRIEND, BUT SHE DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING BACK. I TRIED TO ASK HER WHAT SHE LIKES TO DO, AND SHE JUST SHRUGGED. I ASKED HER WHERE SHE'S FROM, AND SHE CLOSED UP AND WOULDN'T TALK ANYMORE." Papyrus looked at his brother helplessly. "WAS I BEING A BAD FRIEND?"  
Sans leaned over and gave his little brother a hug.   
"no, papyrus. you were being a great friend. lexia's just...really scared right now."  
"OF WHAT? OF ME?"   
"no no, not of you," Sans said quickly, patting Papyrus's arm.   
"THEN OF WHAT?"   
Sans paused, unsure of what to say. Should he tell Papyrus what he knew about Lexia? Honestly, he knew so little himself that it seemed pointless to at the moment.   
"i...don't know exactly," he said, his voice cautious and controlled. "but when I found her in the woods, her leg was broken. she said that she had been attacked, and she was convinced for awhile that i was going to attack her too. whatever she ran away from, it must've been pretty bad."  
The two of them sat on the couch together in silence for a moment as Papyrus digested what Sans had said.   
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE HER TO THE ROYAL GUARD?" Papyrus asked after a time. "IT'S THERE JOB TO HELP MONSTERS IN NEED, RIGHT? THEY COULD PROBABLY DO SOMETHING FOR HER!"  
 _yeah_. Sans thought grimly. _they'd do something alright._  
"she didn't want me to," he said aloud. "she's just as afraid of the guard as she is of other monsters."  
Papyrus frowned.   
"WHY? THE GUARD IS SO COOL!"   
"i dunno, pap," Sans said, sighing. "for now, I think it's best you don't press her. we'll let her rest, and i'll talk to her in the morning."   
"OK."   
Papyrus didn't seem as upset, but he still sat in silence, thinking. He perked up suddenly, a smile of triumph spreading across his face.   
"SANS! I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING! LEXIA SAID THAT ALL THE MONSTERS TRIED TO STOP HER, RIGHT?"  
Sans nodded.   
"yeah."  
"WELL, THEN THAT MEANS THAT NOT ONLY IS SHE MY FIRST FRIEND, BUT I'M HER FIRST FRIEND TOO!" Papyrus beamed. "WHATEVER HAPPENS, WE'LL GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER, AS FRIENDS!"  
If Sans was honest with himself, he wasn't sure if it would be that easy. But seeing Papyrus so optimistic, he couldn't help but smile.   
"heh. heh heh heh."   
"WHATS SO FUNNY, SANS?"  
"aw, it's nothing. you're just so cool, bro."  
Papyrus puffed out his ribcage with pride.   
"WELL OF COURSE I AM! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AFTER ALL. ANYWAY, LEXIA IS ASLEEP IN MY BEDROOM, SO I WILL SPEND THE FIRST NIGHT IN OUR NEW HOME ON THE COUCH!"  
"nonsense, papyrus. i think the couch is more comfy anyway, you can take my bed tonight."  
"WELL..."  
"it's fine pappy, really. go on up, i'll be in to read your story in a bit."   
"OK, THEN!" Papyrus relented, getting up and heading upstairs.   
Sans sighed, rubbing his eyes again.   
Tomorrow would be an interesting day to be sure. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally done! Sorry for the wait, I was fighting major writer's block on this one, but I'm really excited now that I can move on to what's next. Hopefully it won't take as long, but the semester is at that really crazy part, so no promises.


End file.
